Valencia Stories



The Music Plays On: Valencia College Alum Continues His Rise in Opera Despite Global Pandemic

The hustle and bustle of Amsterdam played out behind Valencia College alum Jose Simerilla Romero as several masked figures walked [...]


Rising to the Challenge: Software Students Create COVID Dashboard

This spring, when Valencia College students Nathan Short, Fabian Martinez and Widler Rislin were brainstorming about a capstone project for [...]


This Takes the Cake: Valencia Chef Named Nation’s Top Culinary Educator

When life gives you lemons, most folks make lemonade. Chef Jenn Denlinger is more likely to make lemon curd. Or [...]


From Haiti to Ivy League

On March 26 this past spring, students across the country waited eagerly for the news of their acceptance into the [...]


From firefighter to surgical resident, Warren Evans credits Valencia for sparking his love for learning

For a young Warren Evans, the path to a higher education may have seemed stunted by his lack of a [...]


Osceola Honors Student Wins Prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship

Jennifer Tolliver decided at a very early age that she wanted to go to college – in part because her [...]


Valencia College’s Distinguished Grad Finalists

Editor’s note: We’ve assembled profiles of some of the finalists for the Valencia College Alumni Association Mary Smedley Collier Distinguished [...]


After Six Months of Training, Mechatronics Grad Reboots His Career — and Looks Ahead

When opportunity knocks, it pays to open the door. That lesson isn’t lost on Seann Burks, who left the Navy [...]

Chef Camilo Velasco, chef de cuisine at 1921, and #valenciagrad

Kitchen Reverential: Valencia Grad Learns His Trade from the Masters

Camilo Velasco may be one of Florida’s hot young chefs, but he did not learn to cook at his mother’s [...]


Valencia Grad Angel Sanchez Continues to Break Barriers

When Angel Sanchez graduated from Valencia College in 2014 – and led his fellow graduates in a rousing chant of [...]